ChemiTrade.com targets Middle East region

Online B2B exchange hopes to not only encourage more chemical trading online, but also more chemical and petro-chemical manufacturing.

Specialty chemical and petrochemical trading in the Middle East looks set to move exclusively onto the Web. Spearheading the move will be a regional operation for ChemeTrade.com, one of the world’s largest B2B chemical e-trading stores, said the company’s co-founder and COO, Dr. Shakeel Tirmizi.

The company’s regional operation was officially announced at the Chemtex Middle East 2000 trade show at the Dubai World Trade Centre. “The Gulf is hungry for e-trading and the buyers and sellers already committed to e-store launches are from Dubai, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia.” Said Dr. Trmizi. He also predicted a surge in Middle East specialty chemicals processing after calling the initial response “extremely encouraging.”

“Specialty chemical manufacture will pick up here, particularly as the region has the resources. At the moment, the Gulf has a very limited presence in the global specialty chemicals market, it is coming late to the game but it has all the requirements needed to become a major player,” he continued. “It is no longer good enough for the region simply to pump oil and sell it. By processing and adding value, the region creates for itself a viable alternative.”